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Transcript

Crafting an Unforgettable Client Journey: From Clever Marketing to Immersive Experiences · Salon Success Secrets — The podcast for salon owners who are done hustling harder and ready to break their revenue ceiling.

• 0:34
  Speaker 1: We have some fun things in store today in an area that we love so much.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: We are going to be diving into some fun marketing techniques, something that's super effective in the crowded digital landscape.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: And just a little teaser just to give you a heads up it's not all about social media, so dive in.
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: We're excited to have you here with us today.
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and so just a quick couple stats for you.
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: I don't know if you know this, but 6 million blog posts are written every day, not 600, 6 million blog posts are written every day and 2.9 million emails are sent out every second.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: I think that's just crazy, right?
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: And so that adds up to a staggering like 91.5 trillion each year.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: So why are we sharing these stats?
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: Because, really, here the greatest challenge is what are we doing to stand out in a sea of content that can feel impossible, like when a consumer is getting you know, 200 emails a day, or they're seeing their feed and seeing all these ads pop up.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: We're going to really really look at, like how can we really stand out from the rest?
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: I love that, jen.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: You know those are shocking statistics, but I think this is super cool to know.
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: It's really diving into the trust factor, because 75% of people don't see advertisements as truthful.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: So, if you think about it, I heard one time you see something like 600 ads a day.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: It was a shocking number of ads that you see each day and, honestly, it could even be more by now.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: But so 75% of people don't see advertisements as truthful, probably because we see so many of them.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: But 95% believe in word of mouth.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: You know, I think that that's just an incredible statistic to know when you're trying to build that trust with your guests.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: So really, the key here is that leveraging the power of word of mouth, marketing and customer loyalty is crucial.
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: So you know, this is an area that we really want to explore so that we can grow.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: You know, and some people might say word of mouth is dead, but the statistics show it's alive and thriving and better than ever.
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: So your existing customers can help you acquire new ones more effectively than traditional advertising.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: And you know, I think that that's a key.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: I remember just having a conversation with a stylist the other day.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: That was like how you know I'm thinking about doing something on social media maybe a little giveaway to get some new guests, and I said you know that's great, we can explore that, but let's explore the guests that you love already and you know they have the the income for the services that you provide and do all of these things.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Um, already that you know.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: So why don't we see where their friends are hanging out and how we can get more of those?
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: So I think you know that just ties into that.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: 95% believe in word of mouth and so you'll spend a lot less time spinning your wheels trying to get somewhere.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: Um, if you head down that path faster.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Awesome.
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: So we're gonna look at the grow acronym, um, to really explore, like, how can we stand out, how can we be different?
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: Like if you ever had or seen a leaky bucket, like you've got all kinds of guests coming out, but they're just, you know, leaking out the bottom of the bucket.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: And so we just really want to look at that and view that from the standpoint of, hey, let's look at what's happening around us so that we can decide what we can do about it.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: So we look at at the G of grow.
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: The G stands for get clever.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: And so when you're really thinking about get clever, we're not talking about being funny here.
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: We're really talking about being more witty or, you know, using creativity to capture attention or using marketing to put a smile on someone's face.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: So if you think about like okay, let's say you have some signage out or you have some marketing going on, like what are some things that really stand out?
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: An example would be like haircut start at $41, but the experience is priceless.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: See, that's fun, it's not funny, it's witty, it's clever, kind of grabs your attention.
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: And it really helps with the play of words, because we know that the power of words can really make or break a marketing campaign, and so I've never heard anyone say that before.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Haircuts start at $41, but the experience is priceless, so it's that standout factor.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: It's using the words the right way to attract the right guest or clients.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: You know it's, it's even like you know saying you know, please wait, you're up next, hang tight, you know when, when someone's in line next, you know and, and kind of creating that vision for them, versus you know saying like sorry, or just not even acknowledging them at all or whatever.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: You know, I think that there's kind of that, that line to you know, jen, when you talk about get clever.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: I love that you made that distinction between being witty and not being funny, because everybody's going to have a different definition of what funny is to them.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: But witty is something that anybody can, anybody can agree with.
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: And, you know, if you get a little too crass and you're getting clever, that can you know, really just attract people who you know are maybe sometimes even lower on the scale of emotions, and so just being aware of that, I think is is just a really huge key in getting clever.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: So if you think about, like you know, ways to utilize this inside of the salon, you could develop a marketing calendar with you know kind of clever themes for each month.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: So you could, you know, collaborate with your team to brainstorm some just unique marketing ideas and use some eye-catching graphics and witty copy for online and offline marketing materials.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: So whether you send out emails or you are posting it on your social media, whatever you do, just do something that kind of stands out and is a little bit witty, but you're not tipping over into that funny realm.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: I love.
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: Another idea for that would be to think about your phone greeting.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: If you've been using the phone greeting since 1927, it might be time to come up with something more clever and witty.
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: And so, like just thinking of examples would be like, thank you for calling salon ABC, where every appointment is a VIP experience.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: How may we pamper you today?
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: So like, if you're with us, like I hope you're getting this, like it's just the power of words, the change of words that can really make a big difference.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: Are you know, hey, there, this is salon ABC, where your hair's happiness is our priority.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: How can we serve you today?
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: And so, just really working with your team and thinking of you know ways to really make that phone greeting clever really can help elevate the client experience.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: And also, if you have an on hold message, looking at that on hold message and making sure that it's coming from a place of serving the guest instead of like everything that you have to offer.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: Maybe, if it's summertime, the best ways to keep your summer blowout or how to protect your hair in the summer, are you know what's the best regimen for your dry skin in the summertime?
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: So that's what we mean by getting clever.
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: Like what is something that no one else is doing.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: That will help you stand out.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: Yes, and you know that leads great into our next area, which is R.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: So we're looking at the GROW acronym and we are on R, which stands for riveting.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: You know I think riveting is such a fun word, but what riveting means is creating captivating and engaging content.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: You know so, and you know it's not just content that you're going to put out on social media, it's just the whole experience that the guest goes through with you.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: You want to make it riveting so that they want to talk about it and you know they're really captivated and engaged.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: So if you, if you think about a person that you've ever experienced in your life that was riveting, it was like you were hanging on to every word that they said, and you know it was.
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: They just had you fully engaged in what it was.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: And so, you know, when we think about this inside of the salon, you know, taking somebody on a customer or a client journey, you know, taking somebody on a customer or a client journey, you know you want to examine that whole customer journey to ensure it makes sense and is engaging from start to finish.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: So, you know, ask yourself what if we added a special touch at each interaction point.
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: You know, I think that could be an incredible way to really elevate your experience and make it more riveting, so that people were really wowed by their experience with you.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love that.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: It reminds me of when my niece graduated and we were doing senior pitchers the place we chose to do her senior pitchers like it was an extraordinary experience.
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: Like they had different little areas set up where she could take pictures.
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: They had a dressing room, They'd have somebody come over and touch up her makeup, touch up her hair.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: I mean they truly made her feel like a celebrity and at the end they even put together a complimentary video, which had their logo on it, which she could share, you know, on social media, of just like what her journey looked like taking those pictures.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: They asked her some questions and so it was just a really cool experience.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: So, when you think about that, just think about what is the client experience, the client journey, like Lindsay was saying, from start to finish, and what does it look like and how could you elevate it?
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, and I think something that you could do right away is, you know, make some sort of like an engaging video, like a behind the scenes video, or you know something that showcased, you know, what a new guest could experience, and I think when you kind of touch on some things like the ambiance of your space, like that can be something that is truly riveting, you know.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: So when we look at the ambiance, we want to think about you know what it is that we're hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, just all of the different perceptions that they will perceive when they're with you.
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: And helping them paint that picture and seeing it in a video can really translate well, because it can be scary for somebody to walk into your doors for the first time, you know, and for them to just like lower their resistance before they even come in can be a really riveting experience for them.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: And so let's move on to the O and grow.
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: So when we look at O, we're looking at opportunities and you know, when we're looking at the word opportunities, we're talking about leveraging chances to expand your reach and impact.
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: So this is one of my favorite parts of the marketing strategy is this is where you can really get creative.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: Too is like creating experience that people want to share.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: Cards, even loss of a loved one cards, things like that Graduations like to have, we like to call a love box in our salon, that if something like this is happening or we need to celebrate or even do a little something extra special for a client, it's always there where we can pull a note card or you can get little signature affirmation cards or just even little gifts that are very cost effective, just to really create that experience.
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: So make people want to share what they experienced at your salon.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know that really would create that opportunity to to want to share.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: And you know, even you know thinking about earlier, when we were talking about this, even you know, thinking about earlier, when we were talking about the service provider, that was like, what can I, what giveaway can I do to entice more people to come to me?
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: But really, when you think about, like, who am I serving already and how can I celebrate them even more, you know you're going to get a bigger win out of that than, like, being like, ok, here's something I'm going to give out to the world, but what about my current guests?
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: You know how could I celebrate them and and that would attract more people into your space, you know.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: So it's a win-win.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Not only do you get to celebrate the ones that already know, like and trust you and love you, but then you're they're probably going to be more likely to do it without you even asking, you know, but it's still a great thing to ask and still a great thing to say, like you know, hey, jen, I love having you as my guest and I would love to see more people just like you, and so, you know, creating that environment to where they're so excited about what it is that you're offering, that they really do look for that opportunity to share.
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: You know everything that they experience while they're with you.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: I love that.
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: And then when we move on to the W and grow, the W stands for that wow factor, and so that's where you're really going to work on delivering exceptional, memorable experiences.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: And so if you think about sometimes just doing a wow factor audit, of taking a step back and just seeing what's happening outside, what's happening in the salon space and like where our opportunities are, and so that you can really create that memorable experience, because, just like Lindsay and I were saying earlier, 95% of people believe word of mouth.
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: So you know, people don't really share okay experiences.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: They share negative experiences and extraordinary experiences, and so, at the end of the day, we always want them to share more extraordinary experiences.
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: So what are we doing that's really creating those memorable experiences for them?
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I love that and you know, I know, jen, this is one of our favorite stories that we've heard is really when you think about the savannah bananas.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: And so if you've ever heard of the savannah bananas, you probably have, but if for some reason, you haven't, go check them out on TikTok or wherever you can Google them, you know it really is a cool, inspirational story about how they changed their wow factor.
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: You know they once upon a time they only had two season ticket holders and they grew to over 5,000, you know that are waiting to be season ticket holders each year for the Savannah Bananas.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: And what they realized was, hey, people are leaving baseball games in the middle of a game, like, could you imagine if somebody left in the middle of a movie or in the middle of their hair or facial?
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: That would indicate to us that they do not like what's happening.
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: And so the Savannah Bananas, instead of being like well, we're just out of effect of everything that's happening, they were like, no, we are going to get at cause and we are going to change this to where it's fans first and I love that approach and we love that approach here at the PhD program is how do we create that experience.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: That is, that is client first.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: You know, if that was at the top of everybody's minds, like you know, whether you're the CEO or the front desk or a service provider, if your client, if the client is first, everybody's going to win in that situation.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: And so that's what they did.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: They said our fans are first.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: We're going to entertain them.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: We're going to do all these unexpected perks.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: You know our job is to make it a wow experience so that they want to tell everybody.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: And you know, for there's a couple of true baseball fans that were only in it for the baseball that were like, wow, this is terrible.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: You guys, this is like a circus when we come here.
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: And you know, I think the cool thing about the Savannah Bananas response was, you know, this wasn't in an abusive way.
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: They were just like hey, go tell everyone that.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: You know that you think that it's a circus, because what we're trying to attract here is people who want to have fun, who want to be entertained and who really want to experience.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: That you know.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: And so I just think that that's a beautiful perspective, you know, cause occasionally you're going to have somebody who's a naysayer about anything that you're doing, but just stay the path Like when you truly are there to wow people.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: The results that you'll get on the other side are incredible.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: So if you ever had anybody on your team say that's above my pay grade, they're probably not the right fit for you.
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: Because when you really think about giving that wow factor like client experience, exceptional client experience experiences everybody's responsibility at the end of the day, and so to really create that wow factor, your team has to have that shared reality of what an exceptional, memorable experience should be.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: Yes, and so, you know, looking for different ways to do that instead of the salon, whether it's in your loyalty program or, you know, just getting feedback to see where you can continuously improve.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: You know, I know sometimes the checkout process can be painful.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: So looking for ways to elevate that and upgrade that and really just looking to create that luxurious and inviting atmosphere that clients love and you know, and just having every single person on your team be on that same mission that the client is first.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: So if you are walking by someone and you notice them, take the last sip of their coffee offer to get them a refill and if you can't do it, pass it off to one of your partners who can?
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: You know one of your teammates that can.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: And so just always, to always be looking for those opportunities to serve and wow guests is really what's going to make you stand out at the end of the day.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: So when you think about putting it all together back to our grow format, g is clever, r is riveting, o is opportunities and W is creating that wow factor.
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: So just think about how integrating these elements can truly transform your marketing strategies.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: When you're creating something new with marketing, does it fit into the G, the R, the O, the W?
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: If it fits into one of those verticals, you'll probably have some wins in that marketing campaign.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Yes, and if you implement something after this podcast, we would love to hear your success stories and, of course, if you know somebody who could benefit from this, share it with them as well.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: We always believe in sharing the love and we look forward to seeing you again on the next podcast soon.